Humpback, fin and gray whales make a timely appearance at the Dana Point festival held in their honor

A gray whale breaches off Dana Point during last weekend's Festival of the Whales. Photo: Neil Barnes/Dana Wharf

It wouldn’t be a whale party without the guests of honor.

The Dana Point Festival of Whales kicked off last weekend with a “Magical Migration” parade through town, sand castles built in honor of the marine mammals, and the ‘Whale Walk’ community painting event at Doheny State Beach.

But those who went out on charter boats got a show with an array of whales swimming close to shore over the weekend. Some were so close to the coast they were visible from the shoreline.

“They all got the memo there was a party for them in their honor in Dana Point,” said Donna Kalez, manager of Dana Wharf and co-chair of the festival, now in its 47th year.

There were several grays that swam close to shore, an expected sighting as the marine mammals made their long annual migration from Alaska to Mexico. Some had calves in tow after giving birth in the warmer waters down south.

But then there was the Fin whale – the second largest whale on Earth – that crashed the party Saturday night as the sun was setting.

“We call it the ‘other gray whale’,” said Kalez.

And on Sunday morning, a humpback showed up near the Dana Point Harbor entrance, pausing in front of the Ritz-Carlton on its northward journey.

“I haven’t seen a humpback in a month, then all of a sudden, there’s a humpback and it hung out in the break wall at Doheny… it wanted you to stop and look at it, it wants all the attention,” Kalez said. “It’s really cool to have the other whales come in and steal the spotlight from the gray whales.

“They hear it’s super fun to be a whale in Dana Point.”

The same humpback whale continued north toward Laguna and Newport Beach, to the delight of whale-watching charters up the coast.

“I’ve never seen a humpback this close to the beach acting like a gray whale,” said photographer Mark Girardeau, who on Sunday will be giving a demonstration on photographing whales with the use of a drone.

Next weekend’s festival

Saturday, March 10

A “Cardboard Classic Dingy Dash” will pit racers who create boats out of cardboard against each other at Baby Beach from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a BBQ on the beach and a Chowder Cookoff in the afternoon at the same location.

At Doheny State Beach, there will be a “whale of a beach clean up,” and along the harbor there will be artwork and classic cars on display.

Todd Mansur, a boat captain with Dana Wharf, will be giving a lecture at Harpoon Henry’s about his involvement with the Gray Whale Foundation.

At Captain Dave’s Dolphin Deck, there will be an “Under Sea Eco Carnival” from noon to 2 p.m. Captain Dave will also present a lecture called “Entangled Whales: What Can We Do?” at the OC Sailing & Event Center.

Dana Wharf will have Wyland Art Lessons in the Wild from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., and a drone demo from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. aboard their boat.

Sunday, March 11

The Marine Mammal Lecture Series will feature Justin Viezbicke, of NOAA Fisheries, to talk about the California Stranding Network, starting at 10 a.m. at Harpoon Henry’s.

Artwork and classic cars will be on display along Island Way and Dana Point Harbor Drive.

From noon to 5 p.m., there will be a “Whale of a Concert” on the water. which will offer BBQ and spirits at Baby Beach.

There will be a kid’s fishing clinic at Dana Wharf from 12:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., and a drone demo from 2 p.m to 4:30 p.m

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the movie “Sonic Sea” will play at the Ocean Institute.